Senior Sergeant Stephanie Hudson, acting road policing manager for Northland, is urging people to make better decisions on the region's roads. Photo / Brodie Stone
Senior Sergeant Stephanie Hudson, acting road policing manager for Northland, is urging people to make better decisions on the region's roads. Photo / Brodie Stone
As Road Safety Week nears an end, Northland acting road policing manager Stephanie Hudson emphasises how preventable driver behaviour is fuelling a worsening road toll.
Stephanie Hudson says a lack of restraints, driver impairment, distraction and speed repeatedly contribute to Northland’s fatal crashes.
Northland’s acting road policing manager said poordecisions are leading to preventable crashes having fatal outcomes.
Northland’s road toll has surpassed that of the same time last year.
As of April 27, 11 people have died on our roads compared to eight at the same time last year.
More than half of last year’s fatalities involved alcohol, while speed was a contributing cause in 40% of cases.
Hudson said it was frustrating that people continued to make “bad choices”. Police would keep patrolling to prevent unsafe driving and reduce the risk of serious harm.
Since 2021, 973 people have died or been seriously injured on Northland roads.
Nearly 70% of those crashes happened on roads with speed limits of 80km/h or higher, with 128 deaths occurring on open roads compared to 38 on urban roads.
Acting road policing manager for Northland, Senior Sergeant Stephanie Hudson. Photo / Brodie Stone
Hudson said fatal crashes had a lasting impression on emergency responders, impacted communities and witnesses to the crash.
“We know that there’s going to be trauma when we get to the scene, we know that there’s going to be people’s lives who have been affected forever,” Hudson said.
She said Northland’s roads were not designed for high speeds and encouraged motorists to take their time.
Commute times were longer for people in rural communities and significant weather had left a mark on the region’s roads.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
